Welcome! I hope you're enjoying the Blog Hop!
I love digital stamps because you get the freedom of using many different sizes of your stamps. BUT on top of that, you can make simple single-layer panels with the image having a custom sentiment you create yourself and print with the image perfectly aligned!
Another fun "step it up" is to use a laser printer and FOIL your stamps and/or sentiments!
Let's get to some cards! I'm using the Pirate Snowmen Digital Stamp from Kinda Cute!
First up - a landscape design I made in MS Word by dragging in the digital stamp into a 4 cell table on a landscape layout page. I then changed the image properties to be behind the text so I could add a sentiment anywhere I wanted. I inserted WordArt to have an easily repositionable sentiment box to drag around for placement. "Chiller" font was just FANTASTIC as a piratey font!! In prep for these cards I had been brainstorming some fun puns with piratey phrases. I hope you enjoy what I came up with!
After I printed out and colored the 4 panels, I didnt want to just trim it and put it on a card base. I love using decorative frame dies to cut out the front panel of a single layer card to give it a little more pizzazz. I used Karen Burniston's 1054- Rectangles - Crosshatch dies to cut out the panel. Since I anticipate choosing a colored cardstock card base, I also used the next size down to cut out an insert for the inside to match.
I mentioned using a colored card stock card base. Now which one?? I never know what I want! So I used temporary adhesive (micro dots work great) to "make" my card in various colors. Which one is your favorite?
I started with a white on white (my usual go-to) but then tried a black. Last I thought maybe the red would be fun and oh golly! Look at how the red pops from the pirate clothes!
Ok so before I glued all this down forever I decided I DID want to step up this card and use my TONER FOIL to bond to the LASER PRINTED sentiment. Get that? haha TONER=LASER=TONER FOIL! haha. It took me a few failed tries at my first foiling attempts to realize there are DIFFERENT types of foil! haha!
I have tried using a laminator to bond my toner foil to my laser prints and its just not reliable. I have had the best results using my Spellbinders Glimmer Foiling Machine. This is means to be used with foil plates and GLIMMER FOIL, BUT..... you can use the solid plate to heat up the toner prints/toner foil just like a laminator does and then you have more power over the amount of pressure that gets applied. Both my laminators didn't appear to give enough even pressure for reliable images. I use the Pink Fresh Studio solid foil plate, but any brand should work. **make sure you put a piece of parchment paper on top of the plate/paper/foil combo before you place the plates or the toner image not covered by foil will transfer to your plates (ask me how i know hah!). I went ahead and did my next card example too!
When using the solid foil plate, I place my plate, then turn on the machine, then place my paper on it right away, including the foil, PARCHMENT PAPER, and then the plates. My sandwich I add a couple sheets of cardstock in-between my plate/shim so I get a little more pressure in my Platinum 6. See what works for you! So my whole sandwich sits on the plate while it heats. its a big plate so you want to give it a little more time than the usual smaller pieces. Then when the machine has green light solid for plate is ready, I still leave it on a little more with the timer button. Once the timer is done, I roll it on through the Platinum 6 and viola! perfection! every time!!!!
How about a portrait style? Same deal! I used the usual layout in MS Word, created a 4 cell table and drug in the digital stamp (it made it a little smaller than the landscape version) and added sentiments to go with the scene I created. This one I added the little cardinal that came with my stamp set.
To add the pizzazz to this single layer card, I used the My Favorite Things Wonky Rectangles frame dies to cut out the panel and to cut a smaller insert for the inside to match.
All my cards used the same color combos for Copics:
C02 - Snowman accents and sword blade
YR68 & YR02 - Carrot nose
C6 & C8 - black clothing and sword hilt
RV13 & R35 - red clothing/bird
E35 & E39 - branch arms
Y13 & Y17 - yellow clothing
Don't forget to comment to win prizes by April 19th. Patricia will post winners on April 27th. Please visit Kinda Cute's Blog for the rules and more information.
If you also are on Instagram, don't forget to stop by there as well! I'm on the docket there with a fun interactive popup card made with the same stamp, Copics and foil BUT its on a hexagon popup (like the Lawn Fawn platform popup, but an SVG from Lori Whitlock) that trimmed off the decorative pieces to leave the strip style inserts for adding any image on the platform AND with a backer piece I made myself to emulate the LF style.
Find it here --> @chevyscott
Continue on the Hop!